The letters page and top tips were the biggest laugh.
"One pound a week will supply water for an entire village in Tanzania" says Oxfam. So how come United Utilities charge me twenty pounds a month for my three bedroom semi? The thieving bastards!!!"
I subscribe. As others have said Letterbox and Top Tips are still priceless. There's the odd strip I skip, like Billy the Fish. My favourite is probably Jack Black. Black Bag always makes me think of JPD! In fact there was a strip a bit back about Black Bag and the Reusable Bag.
"Award winning Teddy Bear artist Deidre Dimwit-Forbes has captured for all times the magic of that moment when little Teddy first awakes to find his bed clothes stuck to his fur. Its an irresistible image that will prove a constant source of delight for senile Teddy obsessives, and an exclusive Lovejoy quality antique heirloom edition which mentally fragile collectaholics around the world surely cannot 'bear' to be without".
Love Viz! I usually get asked "Oh is that for the boyfriend?" by the cashier. No it's for me
Been reading it since I was about 8 (I'm 25 now) since my uncle always bought it. The Top Tips and Letterbocks always have me in stitches. I love Fru T Bunn, Meddlesome Ratbag and the Celebrity style stories such as "Mad Max Clifford" (complete with Simon Fuller in an auto-gyroscopic Victoria Beckham)
Love Viz! I usually get asked "Oh is that for the boyfriend?" by the cashier. No it's for me
Been reading it since I was about 8 (I'm 25 now) since my uncle always bought it. The Top Tips and Letterbocks always have me in stitches. I love Fru T Bunn, Meddlesome Ratbag and the Celebrity style stories such as "Mad Max Clifford" (complete with Simon Fuller in an auto-gyroscopic Victoria Beckham)
I have a pile of them under my bed
Don't feel embarrassed I'm 53 and still delight in the mag. It reminds me of a happy time when I worked offshore in the North Sea. The arrival of Viz was like a Red Cross parcel and was hot property on the rig.
I've been reading Viz since the '90's and still love it! Like a couple of other posters on here I don't like Billy the Fish...does anyone?
I love Roger Irrelevant, Mr Logic, Fat Slags, Biffa Bacon but I find the Drunken Bakers pretty depressing
"Award winning Teddy Bear artist Deidre Dimwit-Forbes has captured for all times the magic of that moment when little Teddy first awakes to find his bed clothes stuck to his fur. Its an irresistible image that will prove a constant source of delight for senile Teddy obsessives, and an exclusive Lovejoy quality antique heirloom edition which mentally fragile collectaholics around the world surely cannot 'bear' to be without".
Or the other classic with the little girl doll holding a bottle of bleach...
Been reading it for a few years. There are lots I like, the Fat Slags, the Pathetic Sharks, Biffa Bacon, Jack Black, Millie Tant, Baxter Basics, Spoilt Bastard, Mr. Logic, Sid the Sexist, 8 Ace among them. I don't like Billy The Fish or the Drunken Bakers.
Or the other classic with the little girl doll holding a bottle of bleach...
'Mummy, this lemonade tastes funny'
Lol! I loved the Young Hitler Doll "Ich Bin Ein Naughty Boy" it's still one of my favourites XD
"The Mitford and Mosely Mint are proud to present a charming study of nascent evil
ICH BIN EIN NAUGHTY BOY
Your back was only turned for a minute but thats all the time little Hitler needed to 'goebbel' up all your chocolates...this historic heirloom collector premier doll will goosestep straight into your affections. The toothbrush moustache...the chocolately mouth twisted in genocidal hatred...the single testicle dangling forlornly in his trousers. All are lovingly captured by world-renowned doll artist Milka Magnesia.
This Nazi brand doll is being made available in an edition strictly limited to the number of dolls that can be made out of the total amount of stuff in the world, at the attractive (to us) price of £199.99, payable in increasingly inconvenient monthly installments."
I still buy it. It is a bit hit & miss but when it hits it is hilarious. The Soft Name Scrappage scheme ad in one of the recent issues had me howling. Here it is:
SOFT NAME SCRAPPAGE SCHEME
TIRED of the same old soft name?
Unable to instill fear at garages, children's football matches and parents evenings?
Is your name ineffective at suggesting imminent violence?
Are you a Julian, Rupert, Giles, Xavier or Quentin?
Trade in your old soft name now, and we'll give you 50% off a real HARD northern name.
Names currently available:
Micky Padgett
Terry Carlisle
Billy Nunn (3 months left)
Lenny Briggs
Alan Graft (minimum 5 year lease)
Gary Wadsworth (subject to availability/appeal)
"As Nicholas De Mere I was unable to command respect from tradesmen, but as Terry Matchett I have no trouble getting reasonable quotes from handymen. What the f*** are you looking at?" - T.Matchett, Buckinghamshire
I find with Viz that there's a certain 'style' that follows each illustrator.
I have to say, I just don't "get" Drunken Bakers, and all the strips in that vein (obviously by the same illustrator). Second are the ones about Cosmo De' Medici and the like - they're very clever; but just too 'busy' plot/gagwise, and also somewhat 'cubist' as actual animations, for me to warm to.
My absolute favourite are the Gilbert Ratchet/Tinribs-type ones - they're always so lunatically absurd (and so gruesomely surpassing the heights of physical pain and torture), yet clasically 'Dandy/Beano'-esque in their illustrative style, thus all the more endearingly lampooning the traditional 'comic' format. Their subsidiary stand-bys seem to be Major Misunderstanding and Meddlesome Ratbag, as well as non-sequitur 'guest' strips such as 'Terror On Suprising Bra Planet' - all according with my kind of childish-but-clever sense of humour.
Comments
Letterbocks FTW.
Yik! Yik!
LMAO
Top Tips was my first post on DS.
Milli Tant, Baxter Basics, Student Grant, ...
Awesome. I keep meaning to start buying it again. I usually get the Christmas special, but didn't get round to it this year.
http://tonyvalderama.com/acatalog/viz-spoiltbastard.jpg
"Award winning Teddy Bear artist Deidre Dimwit-Forbes has captured for all times the magic of that moment when little Teddy first awakes to find his bed clothes stuck to his fur. Its an irresistible image that will prove a constant source of delight for senile Teddy obsessives, and an exclusive Lovejoy quality antique heirloom edition which mentally fragile collectaholics around the world surely cannot 'bear' to be without".
Love it.
Been reading it since I was about 8 (I'm 25 now) since my uncle always bought it. The Top Tips and Letterbocks always have me in stitches. I love Fru T Bunn, Meddlesome Ratbag and the Celebrity style stories such as "Mad Max Clifford" (complete with Simon Fuller in an auto-gyroscopic Victoria Beckham)
I have a pile of them under my bed
My absolute favourite strip was definitely Jack Black and his dog Silver, those stories are laugh out loud funny.
Don't feel embarrassed I'm 53 and still delight in the mag. It reminds me of a happy time when I worked offshore in the North Sea. The arrival of Viz was like a Red Cross parcel and was hot property on the rig.
I love Roger Irrelevant, Mr Logic, Fat Slags, Biffa Bacon but I find the Drunken Bakers pretty depressing
Or the other classic with the little girl doll holding a bottle of bleach...
'Mummy, this lemonade tastes funny'
He won't be happy with the proposed price increase on booze.
What about the bairns?
I do still have the DVD boxset though, with Sid The Sexist, Fat Slags etc
Lol! I loved the Young Hitler Doll "Ich Bin Ein Naughty Boy" it's still one of my favourites XD
"The Mitford and Mosely Mint are proud to present a charming study of nascent evil
ICH BIN EIN NAUGHTY BOY
Your back was only turned for a minute but thats all the time little Hitler needed to 'goebbel' up all your chocolates...this historic heirloom collector premier doll will goosestep straight into your affections. The toothbrush moustache...the chocolately mouth twisted in genocidal hatred...the single testicle dangling forlornly in his trousers. All are lovingly captured by world-renowned doll artist Milka Magnesia.
This Nazi brand doll is being made available in an edition strictly limited to the number of dolls that can be made out of the total amount of stuff in the world, at the attractive (to us) price of £199.99, payable in increasingly inconvenient monthly installments."
SOFT NAME SCRAPPAGE SCHEME
TIRED of the same old soft name?
Unable to instill fear at garages, children's football matches and parents evenings?
Is your name ineffective at suggesting imminent violence?
Are you a Julian, Rupert, Giles, Xavier or Quentin?
Trade in your old soft name now, and we'll give you 50% off a real HARD northern name.
Names currently available:
Micky Padgett
Terry Carlisle
Billy Nunn (3 months left)
Lenny Briggs
Alan Graft (minimum 5 year lease)
Gary Wadsworth (subject to availability/appeal)
"As Nicholas De Mere I was unable to command respect from tradesmen, but as Terry Matchett I have no trouble getting reasonable quotes from handymen. What the f*** are you looking at?" - T.Matchett, Buckinghamshire
I have to say, I just don't "get" Drunken Bakers, and all the strips in that vein (obviously by the same illustrator). Second are the ones about Cosmo De' Medici and the like - they're very clever; but just too 'busy' plot/gagwise, and also somewhat 'cubist' as actual animations, for me to warm to.
My absolute favourite are the Gilbert Ratchet/Tinribs-type ones - they're always so lunatically absurd (and so gruesomely surpassing the heights of physical pain and torture), yet clasically 'Dandy/Beano'-esque in their illustrative style, thus all the more endearingly lampooning the traditional 'comic' format. Their subsidiary stand-bys seem to be Major Misunderstanding and Meddlesome Ratbag, as well as non-sequitur 'guest' strips such as 'Terror On Suprising Bra Planet' - all according with my kind of childish-but-clever sense of humour.